Beer & Music: Saint Agnes / Handmade Festival 2019

Ahead of Signature Brew bringing the beers to Handmade Festival 2019, we caught up with some of the most exciting bands on the lineup to have a quick chat about beer and music.

Here, we speak to London's own satanic rockers Saint Agnes as guitarist/vocalist Jon James Tufnell shared his tips for the festival… and stealing random people's beers.

If you were going to make a beer for your band, what kind of beer would it be and why?

Jon James Tufnell, guitar/vox: "We're a satanic rock band so something dark and tasty. We spend way too much time being given weak fizzy lager on tour so we crave the exact opposite. We're all big fans of real ale and craft beer and through travelling know some of the best beer in the world is made in the UK. A classic English malty brown ale done right is hard to beat. We're fans of all things dark so we're pretty keen on stouts and porters too."

What's the best local beer/brewery from where you're from?

Jon: "Funny you should say that. We're based really near Signature Brew in East London and really like Backstage IPA, Studio Vienna and the Hospital Porter. You were kind enough to give us a few cases to fuel our last tour so we've developed quite a taste for it."

NB. We genuinely didn't prompt them to say this. Thanks guys.

Who are your tips for other bands to catch at Handmade Festival and why?

Jon: "Kermes are a really cool band from Leicester that I've wanted to see for a while. We're hoping to get them onto our show their in October. I've heard nothing but great stuff about John as well, so will be checking them out for sure."

Do you guys request beers on your riders at shows?

Jon: "Yes we do. Our rider states 'NO LAGER', sadly this sometimes gets ignored, but it is getting better. Kitty [Arabella Austen, vocals/guitar] tends to spit booze around, at us, on the audience, on herself. After every show our clothes and gear are sticky and smell like a brewery. Recently she climbed onto the bar at a show and as she prowled along it, picked up some random beer and downed it. The owner of the drink was quite pissed off about it to be honest!"

Handmade Festival takes place in Leicester on Sunday 5th May and features the likes of Metronomy, The Futureheads and more. Get tickets here.

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As well as being the world's number one brewery for band collaboration beers – having brewed with Mastodon, Frank Turner, Rodney P, Enter Shikari and over 20 more – we’re also bringing our exciting core range of music-inspired craft beers to the best bars, venues and festivals in the UK. Brewed in East London, enjoyed worldwide. Find out more…